Ah, okay. I'd been wondering for a while, as I see so many posts about "today's appointment with the ped" and such. Around here, most people are still seeing family doctors...or just going to clinics to see a GP.

I live in a large city, but take DS to our family practice doctor. That said, when I discuss his doctor visits here I sometimes call our family practice doctor "the ped" just to be succinct. So some people who say that may not even use a ped!

Oh, so the kid is just supposed to go on being undiagnosed until.... what??

If no one says anything, because it's not their job, where the hell does that leave the kid?

My personal view.... until he/she is an adult and can decide for him/her self to be diagnosed, with full awareness of the repercussions. But, for parents who feel differently, I suppose a neurologist should be consulted. It's outside the scope of a ped.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PrennaMama

To the mamas who share this sentiment: What (in your view) is a pediatrician's job?

Do you think that early awareness of developmental anomoles, or abuse (either familial or maybe from peers), may come form regular visits to a trusted physician?

Should the observation of development and behavior, ability and 'cultural savvy' come from a pediatrician? Is it ok of it does? Why or why not?

I ask, because dh's dad (pediatrician and self-made expert on developmental imbalances like asbergers and ADHD) has at times really turned me off, and I was sincerely mad at the dude for about a year because of some of his opinions. I've made peace, and found a new respect for him as I am on my joureney to becoming a pediatric & family counselor. But I wonder about others who have this feeling, that a pediatrician maybe isn't the most appropriate candidate for these assessments... My take was that Pediatric MD does not a child-psychology/developmental expert, make.

A ped's job at a well-child visit should be to check for illnesses and injuries, and to give medical or health-related advice. Not to give parenting advice, or to decide how a child "should" be at a certain age, or to make implicit judgements about sexual practices, but strictly medical issues. For detecting abuse, yes, if a kid is coming in with recurring injuries that could be from abuse, the ped should probe further and report as needed. But he shouldn't go on fishing expeditions into people's personal lives.

Ah, okay. I'd been wondering for a while, as I see so many posts about "today's appointment with the ped" and such. Around here, most people are still seeing family doctors...or just going to clinics to see a GP.

We see a family doctor, but I don't think I made an overt decision to search one out over a pediatrician. A lot of my husband's coworkers with children recommended this particular doctor and after meeting with him, went with it. The advantages of seeing a family practicioner over a pediatrician are becoming more obvious to me as time goes on and I compare notes with people who use pediatricians, but I could also say that those "advantages," other than the practicality of the whole family, adults and children, having the same doctor, are specific to the individual MD.

I think this has been said, but doctors are human beings. They all have different personalities and different strengths and weaknesses. And because a lot of doctors are more left-brained and science-minded, they might not always be skilled socially. I'm not saying all doctors, but some.

We adore our pediatrician. We've known her since the birth of our first son and we have a great relationship with her. I'm sure she will ask our children a lot of questions to ascertain all kinds of things as they grow and develop. That is her job.

In VF's situation, it sounds like this woman is not a good fit. Have you seen her before? Is she a new doctor? If this was the first visit, I would just move on and find someone with whom you feel more comfortable.

I know this is a very sensitive subject and I don't want to insult/offend you in any way, but could your daughter be picking up on your distress over the appointment? I know that my son can sense when I'm stressed about something and he will sometimes focus in on that.

...but, for parents who feel differently, I suppose a neurologist should be consulted. It's outside the scope of a ped.

No one is saying that the ped would be the treatment provider once something was diagnosed. Naturally, at that point the child would be referred to a neurologist or other appropriate specialist -- actually, the specialist also would most likely perform the formal diagnosis.

But many parents wouldn't know who to consult or even that they should consult someone unless the ped alerted them to the fact and provided them with a referral. Also, with most insurance plans, a referral from the ped or family doctor is required before an appointment may even be made with a specialist.

Pediatricians *do* have extensive medical training and experience observing and evaluating children -- if they notice that a child is exhibiting the symptoms of xyz, I can't imagine that anyone would expect them not to mention it to the parents because it's outside their scope.

Like many ped practices, my practice has a few different doctors and loads of patients. They wouldn't know me from Adam and it doesn't affect the "service" I get. None of them are going to remember you (general you) unless you're one of those parents who call the office and/or bring your kid in for every little thing . . . but then again, that's most parents

I think that is really sad. We see a family practitioner, not a ped., but I feel he does know us as a family and even though there are a number of Dr's, Physician assistants, NP's, nurses, etc in the office I feel they do know me. We rarely go to the Dr's either, mostly WC visits, prescription updates for my asthma and the regular once a year gyno stuff. Maybe its because our visits are pre-planned so we don't see a different person every time?

I would have been upset over this as well. I would probably call the office and talk with the office manager about it. If this is a common thing they are doing then they need to give paperwork out about it to the parents discreetly as they walk in the front door and have the parent sign a consent form to allow discussion of the vaccine/topic, but they should not talk about it openly in front of the child in question.

I feel this type of vaccination is more appropriate once your daughter starts going to a GYN and getting yearly exams.